


this is love

by jjhs



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Beaches, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Fluff, Light Angst, Love, M/M, Short & Sweet, Vacation, chensung if you squint, markhyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23663629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjhs/pseuds/jjhs
Summary: they just don’t have a label. jaemin doesn’t know if they ever will. he’s not sure if it bothers him or not. it wasn’t his idea, it was renjun’s, but he agreed to it without hesitation. jeno came around after a few weeks. he’s a hopeless romantic. but, jaemin and renjun both know it’s just easier fo all of them this way.or, jeno, jaemin, and renjun go on a beach vacation for their senior year spring break and realize their feelings are a lot louder than the words that they use to deny them.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 130





	this is love

**Author's Note:**

> ahhh its 4 am hahah back on my shit posting
> 
> wrote this to avoid my paper due tomorrow...or uh today???????
> 
> anyway uhm inspired by 8teen by khalid?? kinda?? it just gave me norenmin being teenagers and beach vibes
> 
> i do not know
> 
> hope u enjoy

“it’s hot as shit,” renjun curses, stripping himself of his t-shirt and dropping onto the floor of the air bnb’s kitchen. jaemin stares at him from where he’s cutting up fruit and just rolls his eyes.

“you’re so dramatic,” jaemin says with a chuckle before returning to his fruit.

jeno walks in through the door connecting the kitchen to the outdoor deck a few seconds later. he trips over renjun and curses. “jesus fucking christ, why are you on the floor?”

renjun just huffs, fanning himself with his hand. “overheating. sun. hot.”

jeno looks to jaemin for answers. the youngest just shrugs his shoulders. “i don’t know.”

jeno smiles and walks around renjun’s body. he grabs a piece of strawberry and eats it. “and why are you cutting up fruit?”

“because chenle and jisung wanted some.”

“jaem, they’re not five,” jeno tells him with an adorable smile on his face. despite all his teasing, he admires jaemin’s generosity. 

“i know,” jaemin says, dropping the pieces of cut up fruit into a bowl. “but, still.”

jeno pecks jaemin on the cheek. it’s quickly, barely a millisecond, but it has jaemin blushing. jeno looks down at renjun who has his eyes closed. 

“you want some water, jun?” jeno asks, already walking to the fridge to grab a bottle. he squats down next to renjun’s head and presses the cool plastic to his forehead. renjun lets out a little ahhhh before taking the bottle from jeno.

“thank you, jen,” renjun acknowledges and jeno just pats him on the chest. 

“where’s mark hyung and hyuck?” jeno asks jaemin who has his phone out, typing away on the screen.

“think they went to the beach, probably to make out or something. i don’t know.” jaemin sets his phone on the counter. “the brats are coming up from the beach right now. you want to do anything?”

jeno shakes his head. he’d just come in from bodyboarding with renjun and he’s tired. “‘m hungry. we have anything to eat?”

“fruit,” jaemin offers, gesturing to the bowl full of assorted fruit, “or i could make you a sandwich if you want.”

“nah, i got it. you do too much for me already.” jeno means it. jaemin has been his best friend since middle school, always sacrificing his own needs for others. that’s something jeno will always admire about jaemin. 

“i don’t mind,” jaemin says, hopping off the counter and beating jeno to the fridge. jeno knows jaemin’s being sincere.

“you should go to the beach, jun will go with you,” jeno grins when he hears renjun’s noise of protest. “i’m serious. this is your senior year spring break too. you shouldn’t spend it taking care of us. you should enjoy it.”

jaemin and jeno make eye contact and jeno feels his heart race speed up. whenever jaemin looks at him like that--like he’s jaemin’s entire world and more--jeno can’t contain the redness of his cheeks and the pounding of his heart. 

“you know i like taking care of you,” jaemin bites his lips. “you guys,” he tacks on, “all of you.”

“i know, but you shouldn’t have to,” jeno argues weakly, already ready to give in. jaemin just makes him feel so many things he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

“i want to,” jaemin insists and jeno just hates how wholehearted jaemin is. “i promise.”

“ew,” renjun interrupts, finally pushing himself off the ground. he’s a little woozy and falls into jaemin’s side. the younger grabs him by the hips and holds him steady. “you guys are so gross.”

jeno snorts. 

jaemin rolls his eyes. “you love it.”

“eh,” renjun shrugs. he rests his head on jaemin’s shoulder, water bottle in hand. “but, while you’re at it, will you make me a sandwich too?”

“you’re the oldest, why aren’t you making them?” jeno raises an eyebrow playfully and renjun sticks his tongue out at the other.

“well, i’m currently dying from all the bodyboarding you put me through. thanks for nothing, by the way. said you would help me and then left me there to die!”

“he’s lying,” jeno tells jaemin and jaemin just smiles fondly at both of them.

they’ve been friends for a long time, longer than jeno can keep track of and higher than renjun can probably count. they all clicked naturally, something about their chemistry making it easy to be friends and later best friends and now...something more. 

“alright, jun go drink some water, jeno help him to the couch, and i’ll make sandwiches. mark and hyuck are probably hungry too.” 

and, on cue, the door opens and in comes jisung and chenle followed by mark and hyuck.

“hey,” jisung pants, face, shoulders, and chest red. probably sunburnt. “omg, fruit.” he immediately goes to the fruit bowl and chenle follows, not bothering with hellos. they begin to happily munch on the fruit and jaemin grins.

“the ocean is so nice,” mark greets, eyeing renjun weirdly before shrugging as jeno drags him to the couch. “you gotta get out there, jaem.”

hyuck darts for the bathroom, probably to pee, but says something that sounds like “i agree” on his way there.

“gotta make some sandwiches first. you want anything?” jaemin asks and mark frowns.

“hey, i got the sandwiches,” mark pushes jaemin away from the fridge. “c’mon, you always take care of everyone, jaemin. go out there and enjoy this. you’re not going to be a senior in high school forever.”

jaemin shrugs. “high school is overrated anyway.”

mark rolls his eyes. “yeah, well, it’s way easier than college. go, take jeno or one of the brats.”

chenle perks up at the mention of brats. “rude,” he says with a mouth full.

“ew, don’t talk with food in your mouth,” mark says and chenle sticks his tongue out, showing half chewed strawberries and all. mark grimaces. “maybe jeno is the better option.”

“he’s nursing renjun back to health,” jaemin laughs when renjun groans. 

“then go by yourself,” mark insists, “maybe think about shit while you’re out there.”

jaemin huffs. “you’re really not going to let this go, are you?” mark shakes his head no. “alright fine, i’ll go out there alone. i can’t believe you’re forcing me to do this.”

“it’s for your own good!” mark calls out as jaemin slips on his slides and heads out of the house. the beach is only a few minutes away and jaemin can hear the waves clear as day. he smiles to himself. 

he walks off the back deck and begins the walk to the sand. the sun is hot and searing down on them, but jaemin doesn’t mind. he loves it. he’s so glad they got a chance to come here. 

they’re running out of time. spring break. only a month or so left of senior year. and then, off to uni they go. mark is a freshman in uni now, and the brats are a few years away, but jaemin can’t help but feel _lost_. uni acceptances have been rolling in for all four of them and jaemin has no idea where they’re all going to end up.

he reaches the sand and grins to himself as he slips off his shoes and puts his toes in the sand. he walks to the set up the other six have created. beach chairs, umbrellas, towels, and more are strewn around the place. lucky for him, the beach is private and only other residents residing in the neighborhood are there. 

it’s peaceful and jaemin collapses into a beach chair, letting the sun hit him. he knows he should put sunscreen on, but he’s letting himself be without worry. he does so much worrying lately.

he reopens his eyes when something, or someone, falls into his lap. he looks and jeno’s there, grinning at him, eyes turning to crescents.

“hi,” jaemin greets. “this is quite a surprise.”

jeno laughs. “hi.”

“what happened to renjun?” jaemin questions, already worried about the integrity of the little beach chair hyuck probably bought for ten bucks. 

“eh, i kissed it all better. he should be here in a minute.” jeno snuggles into jaemin’s chest, not minding the sweat or the heat.

jaemin lets the both of them enjoy the moment of softness. lately, senior year has been so hectic and so much to do that they haven’t had much time to themselves. well, not enough time the way they would like it to be. the relationship kind.

they haven’t talked about it, or well, jaemin hasn’t talked about it as the three of them. he doesn’t know where renjun and jeno stand. but, sometimes you just don’t need words to know. sometimes, you just need each other.

renjun smacks him on the back of the head a few minutes later, and jaemin is glad because he is getting really fucking sweaty under jeno’s body. 

“stop being so cute,” renjun scowls, pulling a chair next to jaemin’s. 

“just admit you wanna kiss me, junnie,” jeno taunts, climbing out of jaemin’s lap and into renjun’s instead.

“you are so annoying,” renjun states, but even he can’t believe it. the smile on his face gives it away. it’s the smile that only comes out when jeno or jaemin are around. the lovestruck, you make me wanna combust with happiness smile.

jeno doesn’t respond and makes himself comfortable on renjun’s lap. it’s comical because jeno is well-built, broad shoulders, big muscles, yet he’s folding himself up just to tuck himself under renjun’s chin. 

“i’m gonna go for a swim,” jaemin decides, watching the waves with excitement, “anyone wanna go?”

“i’m kinda stuck right now,” renjun says, but he doesn’t sound mad about it. 

“sorry, i just got comfy,” jeno apologizes, “next time though.”

jaemin isn’t mad or jealous. he’s gotten past the point of jealousy. as he walks to the water, he can’t help but reminisce on his relationship with jeno and renjun. at first it was so confusing. they were in their sophomore year when jaemin realized he liked them both. junior year when he realized he was in love with both of them...and kissed both of them. it involved a lot of avoiding and confusion and hurt feelings. but, in the end, it worked out. 

they don’t have a label, and jaemin has never thought they needed one. they were friends first, people with deep feelings for each other second. because, he needed them as his friends even if the being in love thing didn’t work out. 

he doesn’t know when jeno fell for renjun and vice versa. he doesn’t know when they both fell for him. but, it was natural. it was easy and it made sense. so, he didn’t question it. a year later, not much has changed. they’ve grown, though. talk through their problems, find answers together, understand and relate more. the initial jealousy of the other two kissing or doing things without the third has disappeared. 

they just don’t have a label. jaemin doesn’t know if they ever will. he’s not sure if it bothers him or not. it wasn’t his idea, it was renjun’s, but he agreed to it without hesitation. jeno came around after a few weeks. he’s a hopeless romantic. but, jaemin and renjun both know it’s just easier fo all of them this way. 

he’s standing waist deep in the ocean, letting the water move him when he’s tackled face first into the salt water. he comes up, coughing and with a body clung to his back.

he can tell it’s renjun easily. 

“you are so fucking irritating,” jaemin almost growls. he prys renjun off his back, despite the older’s protests. he’s holding him by his hips and renjun wraps his legs around jaemin’s torso. 

“hi, to you too,” renjun has a shit eating grin on his face and jaemin huffs.

“so that’s how you wanna play it?” jaemin gives renjun a moment to surrender, but the other never does. that’s not his style. “fine, it that’s what you want.”

jaemin goes walking into deeper water and dunks renjun in. the older lets go and surfaces, spluttering as water leaves his nose. “you asshole!”

they go at it, splashing water and shoving each other’s faces in. jaemin swims out a bit deeper and renjun follows. the waves rock them and it’s peaceful. 

“you know,” renjun says out of nowhere, which is very much renjun style, “i’ve never been in love before. not before you and jeno.”

jaemin stops floating to tread water so he can see renjun through the salt in his eyes. “me either.”

“i don’t wanna…” renjun starts but cuts himself off.

“what?” jaemin asks, curious about what renjun was going to say. the waves have lulled, giving them a tranquil silence.

renjun sighs. “i...i just don’t want this to end.”

“vacation?” jaemin questions stupidly, “yeah, me either, i love it here. it’s so nice and pretty-”

“no, dumbass,” renjun huffs, “you, me, and jeno. i don’t want that to end.”

“oh,” jaemin lets out, processing renjun’s words. he isn’t the only one nervous about it, he supposes. “i don’t want it to end either.”

“will it?” renjun prods, wanting to know every single detail of jaemin’s thoughts.

jaemin purses his lips. he doesn’t give an answer because he doesn't have one. he doesn't know. 

the silence is broken up as they hear another wave approaching. they prepare themselves and as they swim into the wave, jaemin is still pondering over renjun’s question.

they swim in eventually, finding jeno sprawled out on a towel in the sun, happily asleep. renjun laughs and shakes the water out of his hair onto jeno’s back.

“that’s mean,” jeno mumbles, a pout on his lips, before turning over and squinting to see them past the sun. he puts his hand over his eyes to block the sun. 

renjun just laughs and does it again. jaemin throws a towel at him and uses a random one off the back of the chair for himself. he sits down in a chair by jeno’s head and renjun on the other side. 

this. this is what jaemin loves. sure, he loves the ups and downs and the bickering and kissing, he does. but, he loves these moments where they just exist with no twists and turns. they’re just them. 

jeno turns back onto his stomach and looks at the both of them. “you guys wanna go on a date tonight? there are some awesome restaurants around town we could try.”

“thought tonight was a group dinner,” jaemin says. he’s not arguing, just reminding.

“mark and hyuck said they’re gonna go on date. and, the brats are staying home to have a picnic on the beach or something, i dunno. hyuck said he’d help them make some food before he goes because he doesn’t trust them not to burn something down. so, date?”

“i’m down,” renjun agrees, fingers threading through jeno’s hair out of habit, making a tangled mess on the top of jeno’s head. “any specific resturants?”

jeno shakes his head. “figured we could just look for one before we go. they also have a minigolf course! i hate minigolf, but if you guys wanted to, we could.”

“why would we do something you hate?” jaemin rolls his eyes.

“i mean, you kiss me with your gross morning breath, take my socks and wear them, eat my ice cream sandwiches, not to mention when you cut your toenails-”

“alright, fine,” jaemin cuts him off, not wanting to hear anymore of their poor habits. he’ll be honest, him and renjun tend to annoy the fuck out of jeno, but he always puts up with it. “we won’t minigolf-”

“hey! i like minigolf, this is my date too!” 

“renjun, shut up,” jaemin glares, “you have never said you like minigolf, like, ever.”

‘well, this one time, freshman year i went with a few friends and i thoroughly enjoyed myself. it’s not my fault you didn’t listen to me!”

jeno gives him a dirty look. “we weren’t even dating freshman year.”

jeno seems to realize his choice of words after they’re already out in the open. none of them have ever said they were _dating_ , which is stupid because they go on dates. but, they’ve never put a label on it. 

“sorry,” jeno bites his lip nervously, “uhm…”

“fine, no minigolf,” renjun recovers quickly, not wanting to dive into the implications of jeno’s words. they all know they’re something. but, not dating. they aren’t boyfriends. right?

“we can do something else if you’d like,” jaemin offers, trying to help the awkwardness of the situation. jeno is bright red. 

“maybe go souvenir shopping or something,” jeno mumbles. “i’m just going to go swim, now. be back.”

jeno gets up and skedaddles into the water. jaemin and renjun follow his steps. 

neither of them address jeno’s words, instead letting the heaviness of them fall on their chests. jaemin bites his lip before glancing at renjun. the older has his eyes locked on jeno, who is playing in the water. jaemin can see the adoration practically radiating off of renjun’s body.

↻

they eventually go back to the house, bringing a few chairs and towels and an umbrella with them. they leave a few items out there for chenle and jisung’s beach date.

nobody brings up what jeno said. it’s not awkward, but it feels different. jaemin doesn’t know if that’s just him imaging stuff, though. 

when they walk into the kitchen, mark and hyuck are there. they’re not dressed up, per se, but they’re wearing more than jeans and a t-shirt.

“hey,” hyuck says, looking at the three. “you guys are covered in sand.”

jeno pouts. “i have sand in places where the sun does not shine. i call the shower first.” he goes running off and jaemin just smiles fondly.

“where are you guys going?” renjun asks, sitting down at the kitchen table and checking his phone. “holy shit, it’s already 5? jesus.”

“there’s a restaurant in town hyuck wants to try. we’re probably going to get ice cream too,” mark speaks up. “are you guys going into town?”

“yeah,” jaemin says, dropping his phone on the counter. 

“did you guys want a ride?” hyuck asks inside the fridge, probably looking for something to eat even though they’re about to have dinner.

“nah, we’ll probably be a while,” jaemin declines, “thanks though. we have a second car, so it’ll be fine.”

“okay,” hyuck shuts the fridge empty handed. 

“is anyone using your shower?” renjun questions absentmindedly. 

“nope, you’re free to use it,” mark says, coming up behind hyuck and wrapping his arms around his torso. he kisses the younger’s temple. “c’mon, babe, don’t wanna miss that reservation.”

hyuck nods and leads them to the front door. 

“try not to break anything,” mark yells out to all of them. “also, please tell chenle and jisung where you’re going. and, beg them not to do anything stupid like get lost.”

jaemin rolls his eyes. “gooooooooo. we’ll be fine.”

mark looks at him warily. “i’m serious. i do not want to come back and find out the brats got lost.”

“eh, they’ll find their way back. dogs always do,” renjun remarks and mark rolls his eyes.

“alright, bye,” hyuck calls out and leads them out the front door, making sure it shuts behind them.

“you want the shower first, jun?” jaemin drinks from an open bottle of water, hoping it’s renjun’s or jeno’s. 

“nah, go for it. you take the longest, anyway.” 

jaemin just flicks renjun on the back of the head before going to mark and hyuck’s bedroom. they have the second biggest, leaving the master for the three. the youngest share a room and a bathroom. 

jaemin starts the water in the glass shower and brushes the sand off his face.

↻

they’re all ready to go about an hour and a half later. jeno went through four outfits, jaemin through six, and renjun through two before they could decide on the right clothing. by the time they head for the car, the brats are already down having their picnic.

it was cute, the way chenle grabbed jisung’s hand and waved goodbye with their picnic basket in the other. and, it was especially cute how jisung blushed furiously and left without a goodbye.

they’re driving into town, or, well, renjun is driving into town while jeno sits in the front seat and plays 30 seconds of a song before skipping it because he got bored of it. renjun is nearly at his breaking point, but he doesn’t want to start anything while on a date.

though, jaemin is fairly sure that renjun mutters, “this is why you don’t control the aux” under his breath. 

they make it to the restaurant jeno picked for them. it’s cute, a little diner with colorful walls and loud music. the line to be seated isn’t long and they’re sitting in a booth in no time. renjun and jeno on one side, jaemin on the other.

“it’s cute,” renjun comments, browsing through the menu. he looks good, hair up off his forehead and a baby blue v-neck shirt on exposing his collarbones. “food looks good as hell.”

jaemin agrees with a silent nod, eyes roaming over all the options. a waitress comes by and takes their drink order. jaemin notices the way her eyes linger on jeno a bit too long, the way she bites her lip and bats her eyes. jeno is oblivious as he always is.

renjun coughs when she touches jeno’s shoulder and she snaps out of it. “oh, i’ll be right on that!”

jeno turns back to them with no emotion on his face. jaemin almost laughs thinking about how unaware his… _whatever_ is of other’s attention. and, jealous renjun is always funny.

the drinks come and eventually the food. it’s good, really good and jaemin eats so much it makes his stomach hurt because it’s so delicious. renjun and jeno seem to be in the same boat, holding onto their tummies as they ache. 

the waitress comes back with their bill, and it’s jeno’s turn, so he takes it from her. she seems overly excited about giving the bill to a customer and jaemin and renjun look at each other knowingly. they’ve grown accustomed to their… _whatever_ being hit on, so it’s pretty standard for them to check and see if someone’s left their number for him.

renjun looks over jeno’s shoulder and rolls his eyes. he looks to jaemin and just nods. jaemin just snickers to himself.

“she must’ve really liked you,” renjun hums and jeno stops fiddling with his wallet to look at renjun.

“what?” jeno actually looks confused and renjun rolls his eyes.

“she left her number at the bottom,” renjun points to the numbers scrawled across the bottom of the receipt.

“oh.” jeno just frowns. “i didn’t notice.”

“right,” renjun lets out, annoyance clear in his voice. he seems jealous and jaemin doesn’t know what has him on edge. maybe it’s the whole dating thing. it’s not usually this tense when they talk about whoever is hitting on jeno, usually it comes out more as a joke with a lighter atmosphere.

“what’s that supposed to mean?” jeno accuses, dropping the bill on the table and turning to face renjun. jaemin doesn’t want to turn this into a scene, but he doesn’t know how to interject without pissing someone off.

“nothing,” renjun snaps and jaemin knows something is wrong. renjun gets annoyed with them, sometimes playfully tells them off, sure, but never snaps at them. especially not jeno.

jeno just glowers at him. “i don’t know why it even matters to you who flirts with me or not. we’re not dating, _right_?”

his words hit jaemin so hard he chokes on his own spit. holy shit, this is really happening. jaemin has to process it and prays renjun doesn’t say anything he regrets. 

the oldest looks dumbstruck, mouth hanging open and one eye quirked as if he can’t believe what jeno just said. he eventually finds his composure and puts on a disinterested face. “right.”

jaemin’s eyes widen when he hears renjun’s response. _oh no. this is not good. this is not fucking good._

jeno just faces forwards in silence. 

oh, how the silence is deafening even though the music was already doing a pretty good job at it. jaemin hates when they fight and he usually finds a middle ground to work with, but he has no idea what to do now. this is foreign territory for all of them. they’ve never fought over _this_ before.

jaemin gulps. he watches in disbelief as jeno saves the waitresses’ number in his phone. it stings, but it’s meant to hurt renjun more than it is him. jeno wants to piss renjun off, and damn is he doing a good fucking job at it. 

they leave the restaurant. everything is tense as they drive home. jaemin sits in the front seat to keep them from getting into a physical altercation. he tries to stare at the pretty palm trees and plants and town and eventually where the skyline meets the shore and the colorful beach houses. but, he can’t.

he doesn’t know how this is going to affect them. he can only hope they can work through this. they’re friends before lovers, right? 

he used to think that’s how it worked, but it seems they’re one in the same now. there is no jeno without love and there is no renjun without love. the kind of love that is more than friendships. the kind of love only couples seem to share.

jaemin swallows hard.

they arrive at the house, nobody having uttered a single word since. as soon as the car stops, jeno jumps out and storms off toward the beach. nobody dares to follow him as he goes. jaemin watches until he can’t anymore, and he thinks renjun does the same.

renjun and jaemin walk into the house in silence too. neither knows what to say, but they seem to share the same feelings about it. they know each other well enough to understand this without words. 

luckily, nobody else is home. it’s still pretty early, around 7:30pm so it doesn’t surprise them as they fall onto the empty couch. their shoulders touch, but jaemin can’t bring himself to face renjun. he isn’t sure what to say let alone how to say it.

renjun sighs and lets his cheek rest on jaemin’s shoulder. a few minutes pass and jaemin finally gets the courage to say something.

“so,” jaemin starts, already regretting his choice to speak. “are we...are we going to talk about what happened?”

renjun doesn’t answer and jaemin doesn’t know whether he should prod or not. again, foreign territory. they don’t fight over their relationship status, never have, really. leaving it alone was better than trying to work it out, at least for jaemin and renjun.

“do we have to?” renjun finally speaks up.

jaemin smiles softly. “i’m afraid so.”

“fuck,” renjun lets out, closing his eyes. “i...i never wanted this day to come.”

“you say that like somebody died,” jaemin snickers and renjun pinches his side to get him to shut up.

“fuck off, you know what i mean.”

and, unfortunately, jaemin does. “labels never meant much to me. never knew they meant that much to jen.”

renjun sighs heavily. “i’m just scared.”

“of what?” but, jaemin feels like he already knows. probably fears the same thing.

“of losing this, jaem. if we...if we don’t put a label on it, if we never really date, maybe it’ll hurt less when it eventually comes to an end.”

the words resonate with jaemin. feelings are always so loud. there’s no escaping it. 

“maybe,” jaemin agrees, mind trained on jeno and his beautiful face and adorable smile. “but, probably not. nothing will make it not hurt if it ends. we both know that.”

and, they both do. because you can’t pacify that kind of hurt. you can’t stop heartbreak. it’s inevitable.

“i know.”

more silence seeps in. they need a moment to think, to find the answers, and to come up with a solution as they always do.

“i guess,” renjun starts and stops. he looks to jaemin for help, for a way to fix the predicament they seem to be in.

“i guess,” jaemin says, “we have to date then.”

renjun smiles, a breath of relief he hadn’t realized he was holding in released. “yeah. i guess so.”

“alright,” jaemin starts.

renjun finishes, “let’s go get our boy.”

they push themselves off the couch. hand in hand, they walk onto the deck and see a person in the distance. they don’t know what it is, if it’s their jeno radar or just them knowing, but they begin to walk toward them.

by the time they can clearly see the back of the boy’s head, they know exactly who it is. jaemin’s heart skips a beat. _lee jeno._

he’s sitting with his knees to his chest, eyes buried in them and arms wrapped around his shins. he sniffles before looking up out of instinct, meeting renjun and jaemin’s worried faces. his eyes are bloodshot, red rimmed, puffy, and wet. jaemin’s heart clenches at the sight.

“can we sit?” renjun asks, though they all know he’s going to sit regardless or not. 

jeno nods and they sit on either side of him. it’s windy, cool water blowing into the air and making it a bit chilly. jeno shivers and renjun is quick to strip himself of his jacket and place it around jeno’s shoulders.

“i’m sorry,” renjun swallows his pride, which he doesn’t do often, “i am so sorry. for hurting you, jeno. i never...that was never my intention. it never will be.”

jeno looks over at renjun and more tears slip out. renjun reaches out and wipes them off of jeno’s cheek with his thumb. he strokes the skin, love practically pouring out of his pores. 

“i’m so, so, so fucking sorry, baby,” renjun’s voice is so soft. “please, please forgive me.”

jeno is weak for renjun, even weaker for the both of them, and with both of their scents filling his nose alongside the smell of salt, he can’t help but cave. he wants to be mad, but he can’t.

“i do,” jeno croaks out. “i do.”

renjun’s hand goes to his heart and he lets out a breath of relief, like his heart race is calming. jaemin wraps an arm around jeno’s waist and cuddles into the cook of his neck.

when he pulls away, he notices the way jeno’s body unconsciously follows his touch. 

“we wanna date you...we wanna be your boyfriends,” jaemin says and jeno’s eyes shoot over to him.

“you mean that? like, forreal?” jeno seems shocked and it hurts jaemin’s heart when he realizes that jeno probably thought they didn’t want to date him for the wrong reasons. jeno is torn between looking at either jaemin or renjun, and he settles on jaemin who is in charge of all the talking.

“of course we do,” jaemin breathes out, “we...we were scared, jeno. of losing you, or being hurt. but, now, we both know it’s us three until the end. and, we can’t be scared forever.”

“boyfriends,” jeno tests the word out, liking how it rolls of his tongue.

“only if you’ll have us, that is,” renjun adds, in case jeno feels pressured to say yes.

“of fucking course,” jeno practically shouts, smile so big and pretty it could win a war. “i’ve only been waiting since, like, sophomore year.”

he grabs jaemin’s face and kisses him hard, not letting the other a second to breathe. jeno breaks away quickly and kisses renjun too. jaemin lets out a breathless laugh.

their first kisses as boyfriends. he didn’t think it would be that different. and, it doesn’t feel that different, but it does in a way. like it’s more official, more concrete. safer, like home.

“the sun is setting,” jeno comments as if they didn’t just confirm their relationship status a few minutes ago, and that’s something both of them love about him.

they cuddle together, limbs wrapped around each other and hearts entangled. the sun is so pretty, but jaemin is focused on the two most perfect boys next to him. they fall asleep somewhere in between.

when jaemin wakes up, his _boyfriends_ are still sleeping and he sighs in content. this. this is what pure happiness feels like. he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. wouldn’t want to be here with anyone else. he grins stupidly, ear to ear. 

this is love. pure, soft, and in the form of two beautiful boys. jaemin could never wish for anything else.

**Author's Note:**

> hehe thank u idk how this got so long
> 
> i haven't written norenmin on here since uh.... 2018???? so heheh yup comment/leave a kudos if you enjoyed. no comment is too long or short<3333
> 
> xoxo, liv
> 
> [twit](https://twitter.com/flirtmarkno)
> 
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/marknorens)


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